The Invisible Poor [Infographic]

Tue, Aug. 07, 2012 Posted: 03:17 PM

Did you know that 43% of Americans that were surveyed said they believe that people living in poverty can always find a job if they really wanted to work? However, there are now over 64 million Americans that have given up hope and looking for a stable job.

With the lack of ever finding that light at the end of the employment tunnel, more than a million U.S. families lost their homes in 2010 to foreclosure. And with that, an estimated half a million children may currently be homeless in the U.S. But, even with all the homeless children and families out there today, only one out of ten Americans named poverty or welfare as one of the top issues that our government should address.

With the lack of education and high school dropouts, we are on an incline to witnessing more and more poor people. Not only the lack of education, but the circulation of drugs and addictions in America, (an estimated 7 million addicts in the US as of 2008) has the poverty level rising. But, of course money is a leading contributor. Those people that never save money assist in our poor issue; for example, the 27% of Americans with no personal savings. Also, an average credit card debt of $15,799 per United States household was recorded- therefore, we as Americans are borrowing too much.

So, how exactly do we help ourselves and others out of this poverty that we have sunken into? Become educated, manage your money well, and always strive for better job opportunities. Don't become another statistic and leave the poor invisible.